Kansas is a track that can come down to good racing or simply gas mileage. NASCAR needs some exciting racing on the track and ABC needs a good telecast to get back on the TV track.
Once again, it will be Allen Bestwick that wades into the 1PM timeslot and goes up against the early NFL games with NASCAR Countdown. Bestwick has Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty along for the ride. Expect a recap of Edwards hitting the wall last season, Logano rolling over and the up to the second Chase points.
The TV team has one hour to fill on the pre-race show. Expect the relationship between the ESPN pit reporters and the drivers to be on display once again. After two hours of RaceDay, the different answers that drivers give to the ESPN team is fascinating. My theory is good questions get good answers.
Jerry Punch was off Saturday as Marty Reid called the Nationwide Series race. Punch walks into another tough situation with lower TV ratings and disjointed coverage plaguing this portion of the schedule. His knowledge of the sport is tremendous and he has two top analysts with him. The big pressure is not only on the Chase drivers.
Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree have formed a team. Unfortunately, Punch is not on it. The duo has worked with Punch, Reid and even alone this season. They have come to rely on each other on the air and let the play-by-play person do their own thing.
Kansas is going to allow the Director to go in-car a lot. This big sweeping track is so different from Dover that the TV presentation will feature a lot of looking for side-by-side racing once the field settles in. Expect lots of driver soundbites played back and the infield gang to get plenty of air time.
If this race turns out to be competitive from the start, it could be just what both the sport and the ESPN gang really needs. After the buzz from the Logano wreck and the hard racing last week, there is no doubt that some new eyes will be checking out the Kansas action once the race is underway.
Jamie Little, Shannon Spake, Vince Welch and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Tim Brewer rounds-out the on-air talent as he reports from the Tech Garage. This is ESPN's "A team" and they are all squarely in the middle of crunch time.
This post will serve to host your comments on the ABC coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from the Kansas Speedway. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
544 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 544 of 544Coming back from ads in the middle of pit stops...can it possibly get more confusing?
Pattie saying 2 laps short for Montoya
Daly Planet Editor said...
"this round of pit stops on TV is a complete cluster....."
Which Eastwood movie is that from?
The flow of this telecsst reminds me of watching TV when my 6 year old grandson gets his hands on the remote.
26 also missed a lug nut on the pit stop.
(thanks to dustin long for tweeting that.)
@ Ken, for me it's when Dan has the remote, lol.
Or when the remote is stuck between the sofa cushions.
Just a I start to get a feel for the racing between 2 cars and they switch. This is a mess.
'If we could call up Ray Evernham...'
Please bring Ray back! He offers useful information, unlike a certain individual in the infield studio.
Those aren't pillows!!!!! (John Candy referene)
Led Zeppelin! I recognized one!
Kasmir, Led Zep. The 70s live on at BSPN.
@JD - Hey, at least they stayed with the coverage for more than 7 minutes...
Spoke too soon, they must have been itching to go back to commercials.
Anybody remember what the temperature was at start of race? Chad Knaus predicted 72-76 on TWIN.
@DrT- OK, now explain using Eminence Front by The Who. The song is about a bunch of people hiding who they are at a party doing coke. :)
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
There isn't any flow, and now no one is really doing pxp. No updates.
Vickers down a cylinder didn't hear that.
confused, boring bullsh*t coverage.
How many times did Jerry Punch say Greg Biffle started 31st?
4, maybe 5?
Just makes me wonder if DJ and Andy could do this better by themselves.
@bevo--Maybe that's the theme for Mayfield's new reality show.
Hiding who they are? Maybe that's why ESPN/ABC NEVER rolls the credits at the end of one of these extravaganzas, so we can find out who's responsible.
He had to make up for the lack of 'fifty year old Mark Martin' plugs.
Um, there's 7 races left there Shannon.
A lot of people associated with this broadcast are abandoning their responsibilities it seems. And no one cares but us. Jeff Gluck never watches the telecasts? He needs to. More witnesses for discovery:-)
@jd per nate ryan tweet: a fuel mileage finish is the only thing that could save this cluster****.
another good question from shannon to vickers "can you guys rebound in the next 8 races?"
attagal, shannon!
An engine blew up, didn't Punch tell us that that causes mutli car wrecks?? I must have missed the wreck
@dot: oops. but to be fair, i missed that as well.
it just seems endless. . .
#55 back to the garage. Can't make up any more positions.
slow ride
Foghat
Jeff Gluck does not UNDERSTAND the problem with ESPN?! I couldn't believe his attitude on Twitter..tweeted to him the bottom line for me is HORRIBLE CAMERA work..and that continues to be for me.
He never responded. I am sure he got bombarded.
#55 officially OUT - accident
Foghat - Slow Ride.
I see cars out there racing for position...so why is this race so boring to me? Is it just because I don't give a rat's a** who wins the 'chase'? Why do I feel no drama whatsoever?
Saw Foghat in concert too. BSPN=nostalgia.
I just realized, we actually see more of the cars and pit crews during the commercials than during the race itself.....that is just sad.
there is nothing 'in the clutch' about this race Jerry.
@DrT- Brilliant! That explains a lot :)
Slow Ride - Foghat My sophomore year in high school
How can so many people talk so much and say so little? Their talk is just filler with no facts. If they took the MRN broadcast and gave them control of which pictures to show, it might be enjoyable.
I'd guess that Jeff Gluck is not having to try to watch the races on television. If he did, he might understand why so many of us are to livid. But, like many of the media, he is at the track, seeing everything unfolding in front of him, and doesn't have to put up with this stinking coverage.
#88 lost oil pressure. done blowed up.
JPM furious, car is wayyy too tight and no forward bite. Pattie telling him they will pit when caution comes. Say NASCAR won't let this run green to the end
Just showing random cars now.
I hope for Pat Tryson's sake Kurt makes it.
Jr no oil pressure
No intervals on the ticker since lap 178...
Maybe if they get Junior some "cheerleaders" that could loose an article of clothing for every mistake the team makes....that would make it more fun!
Jeff is a good guy, he is just naive because he is usually in the media center.
Watching at home or today like he is without sound is probably a very big wake-up call.
Pity caution with 10 to go.
What happened to Jr..had everything muted talking to room mate...a belt?
The Punch monotone right now is just simply brutal.
42 WILL pit
Oops, 31 to go. Why the caution? I was typing.
JD
he was watching the race in a bar and they just turned it off so he is leaving I believe (re Jeff gluck)
sophia, the oil pump is locked up. done.
Montoya 4 tires, adjustments
Fluid per N.com.
@Dot- Saw them supporting Foghat Live (77 or 78) sat on second row stage right, flash pots went off and singed my date's hair. Fun times! :)
(phillie fans in full-throated booing b/c marlins are walking jason werth in the bottom of the 10th, 2 out, one on. took away werth's chance to get his 100th rbi.)
Thank goodness Junior is out of his misery. Can this season end soon enough for him? Starting out with a great car, mistake (not his) on pit road, then just miserable. Oy.
Football analogies?!? please
Did any one hear a driver report fluid on the track??? Nascar debries cameras would have a hard time seeing it....
The boss - GLory Days
Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
Patrick
Thanks
As I said tough to be a Jr fan this season...sigh
on another note, Bengals won in overtime!!
Lateral: Means, im not calling this, you do it.
Race is over at 3. Barring a red flag, how long will the post race be?
They'll reset the field? What a concept but, why start now?
Do my eyes deceive me? Did they actually NOT zoom in on a car at the end of pit stops? They actually stayed wide and showed the entire pit road for the entirety of those pit stops? Did the world stop turning? LOL
well, thats what Biff meant anyways
Patrick
Thanks
As I said tough to be a Jr fan this season...sigh
on another note, Bengals won in overtime!!
well, they held it and got one right. How hard was that?
Patrick
Thanks
As I said tough to be a Jr fan this season...sigh
on another note, Bengals won in overtime!!
Becky....1 for 4 today!!!!!!
JD - the producer/director must have been on a potty break!
Patrick
Thanks
As I said tough to be a Jr fan this season...sigh
on another note, Bengals won in overtime!!
Patrick
Thanks
As I said tough to be a Jr fan this season...sigh
on another note, Bengals won in overtime!!
If there is a never a dull moment listen to JPM, can we have him do the race broadcast instead of these guys then?
Now if they would just put up the ticker BEFORE going back green flag racing.
(woo hoo! phillies win)
ok, back to the race. now, if smoke can pull this sucker out of the dung heap, i will be a happier camper than i was about 15 minutes ago!
I think that was a "competition" caution more than a debris caution.
@Sophia--you swerved into a great point about the coverage of racing in general and ESPN/ABC in particular, to wit:
Accountability among journalists is not a welcome concept to most practitioners. They kinda think you really need their perspective to understand what is going on. When you called out Gluck, he got defensive. Do that to most journalists--same reaction. The Anon's from folks with laptops--same deal. Worldwide leader--you see what happens.
Those who embrace accountability--like Marty Smith will do a better job than those who do not.
With accountability comes responsibility. ESPN feels they are not accountable to their audience.
They will find out that they are, to their great distress.
Silly me...muted MRN to watch the restart since they are minute behind tv for me.
TV goes to bumper cam. MUTE now MRN. :-)
Another race..are they at Dega, Bristol or Mexico?
Punch can't keep up with the action
what a race on MRN!!!
Up against the concrete? Really JP? It's steel and foam now.
Dr T more to the point, shouldn't the accontability be demanded by NASCAR as much as the fans?
Finally, intervals on the ticker after 70 laps without them.
So "power" moves are the outside and "Finesse" to the inside....or does DJ not keep track?
the bar that turned OFF the NASCAR race where Gluck was ...was in CHARLOTTE.
A wide shot on tv finally & I need binocs!
As long as Nascar is getting their money from ESPN, they don't care. Until it's time to renegotiate the contract. Is that in 2011?
how many laps to go? Missing from TV screen?
ya know, haus14 is right: mrn must be at a differnt track b/c, even behind, it's a better race than what i'm seeing on tv.
I want that SAME MPH at the line graphic for the finish. PLEASE!!! No flying heads.
come on Jeff
Speeds show Stewart at 164.30 and Montoya and 164.34 as the fastest that lap, and JP says "Montoya's moving in." .04 mph faster isn't quite moving in.
@ri88girl--without fans--there is NO NASCAR. Fans ultimately pay the bills by buying sponsor and advertiser products. If they vote with their pocketbooks, and vote with their viewing, listening or reading habits, the picture becomes rather clear.
A bad telecast puts the sport in a similarly bad light. SO if someone comes to a local business from an ABC affiliated TV station asking the businessman to buy TV time during the race--and the businessman tells the TV station rep to get lost until the telecasts improve... Now multiply this by an industry....
As per post #3 of this thread, that 14 is out front for the money laps
Dear Disney -
PLEASE fire Jamie Little / Shannon Spake / Brad Daugherty ...
and another solid question from jaimie to dale: "how do you describe today?"
no touchy feeley questions here.
attagal, jaimie!
@Patrick - I agree.
ESPN, if you're monitoring this site, no flying heads at the finish, use the same graphic as MPH at the line. (We know you're reading, prove it to us.)
Dear Disney,
I second those firings, and addin on demotion back to pit reporter for Punch.
JP.....he never says simply 6th, or 7th when saying what place a driver is in. He always has to include the word "position". LOL
"They still don't know what happened with the power outage"????
WHat? You are not paying attention at all.
Oil Pump belt fell off because the Oil Pump LOCKED up. That's the reason for the power outage. Why it locked up is a mystery, but not the power outage. Jeez.
@Red, Jr actually gave a full and discriptive answer to her, whats up with that? I was expecting something more along the lines of 'Were you here today?'
i have to defend what few comments i've heard from the pit reporters today: they haven't asked emotion-laden questions, they've asked the sorts of questions a racer can respond to with confidence and ease.
because of that change, the drivers ahve actually added information and NOT blown them off, as has been the pattern to date.
so, for me, it's an improvement as these are the sorts of questions i want answered.
So are you telling me there's no other racing on the track rite now. Oh there's some.
Jamie has to go imo
I can honestly say I have no idea what happened and why it did today.
Good for Smoke, Ryan had a horrible day.
w00t! w00t!
Congratulations Smoke!
Did anyone else finish the race besides the the top chasers?
well, THAT was interesting: trying to show us some of the challenges at the end instead of the cars crossing the line.
but still had the infamous 'flying heads."
Make sure to take a moment to leave us a comment on the Your Turn post.
Especially after that great pre-race show that Bestwick hosted today.
The new post is up now, just go back to the main page.
This is one of our most popular features and is read by thousands of Internet users.
Thanks for helping us out....
JD
YAY Reut. That's how to get coverage. Stink up the top 10 full of Chasers.
They are in love with that flying head gimmick. Just show all the cars crossing the line please
What a catastrophe at the end!
Yay tony. Your namesake asleep on a love seat across the room. Wish I had a camera..."stewart" is napping oblivious agains the windows by the huge evergreen tree.
Glad this is over.....wow painful to see Jr do so badly ...again.
Least Tony won.
what exactly did you want Jaimie to ask JR?? she didn't ask the how did that make you feel crap. She simply said how would you describe your day. And I believe she meant they did not know why the belt came off. I believe in calling out the pit reporters when they are crazy but I think she did alright with that one.
Is the race over? I didn't see all the cars take the checkered flag. Isn't that what happens at the end of the race? When did that change? Thanks alot espn! Not!
This is going to be an interesting Monday. Chad Knaus, Jimmy Spencer and Michael Waltrip on TWIN Monday at 8PM on SPEED.
Good luck Steve Byrnes!
and there's another good question from jaimie to grubb: " WHEN did you make that decision to take 2 tires?"
(of course, not a fan of the momentum question as a follow-up but still . . .)
oh shannon, not so good: "how hard did you guys work for this second place finish?" just hard enough, i guess.
and SHE follows with the momentum question. blah.
vince, not bad: "how did you guys decide to go with 4 instead of two?" to jimmie.
i contend that when asked intelligent questions about strategy and all, drivers actually answer in complete sentences and give solid information.
not sure I agree with asking Jr how his day went question.
Obvious, started out great then issues again. :(
The fact it was a horrible day AFTER starting out so well was not lost on the MRN guys when they spoke of his problems again...Jr seemed to be wanting to say anything to Jamie so as not to bad mouth 'anybody on his crew'.
But that's pure extrapolation on my part.
@Brad
how bout what happened to the oil pump? Are you and Lance gettting better communicating? With seven races left are you guys trying new stuff for next year?
I just wanted to say congrats to Brad Keselowski and the #25 team. They ran up front until the caution that came in the middle of green flag pit stops. They fought back to finish 13th. Not bad for a guy who doesn't know how to race (according to Mr. Hamlin anyway). :D
@ri88girl: agreed that she could have asked other questions. my position, however, is that what she DID ask was more interesting than what usually comes across the mic. as a result, dale gave a complete and thorough answer.
i think your "7 race left" question would have been excellent!
@sophia: one last thanks fo rthe mrn online tip: i owe you!
Becky I concur about your comments on BK. I really like him.
ri88
I'd love to know how Jr & Lance are communicating these days! I don't have scanner access...but i thought I read here earlier Jr was NOT happy with some calls...
I don't think JR knew what happened yet but don't know that for sure. He has said for 3 weeks that he likes the direction the team is moving in and likes the way Lance controls the team. After that he would have probably said that the decision on his crew chief is not his decision. then we would have bashed her for beating Jr with the same questions. Just my opinion.
@red
You are most welcome for the MRN tip. One can miss much of the race "hunting for valid" mrn stations in this roulette season of dissing NASCAR for other sports.
Glad it worked out. :)
Will we go until 3/6 PM?
Where is JPM's interview?
While things are still fresh in your mind, take a moment to hop over to our Your Turn post and let us hear your comments about today's telecast.
Jamie has improved 1000% since she started I am mainly sick of the stupid, vapid, touchy feely questions either they choose to ask or are forced to ask by the truck.
I think Jamie is trying to make her questions better, I get the feeling sometimes she has a leash on and I wish she would break it.
oh joy, Cali
@ri88girl: so very true and i agree. i suspect (and have nothing i can point to as proof) that she's asking HER questions more frequently now and less what's being yammered in her earpiece.
could be wrong but . . .
see? another good series of questions from jaimie to jpm.
the important thing here is: when asked stronger questions, drivers respond better and fans win.
it must really bug the reporters and ESPN when the drivers don't bite into the is this a building issue questions..
ok started water for Mac & cheese & missed the really good questions from the Bwins!
So do they ever interview Reutimann, only guy in the top ten not a chaser and I'm still waiting
@nrf: reut may have gotten out of dodge already! does seem as if they're digging to find folks to put on camera -- altho' i am enjoying it immensely!
Red but they found Brad without a problem.
OK guys, going to move telecast comments over to the new post.
We are also keeping a post open for the SPEED Report, Victory Lane, Wind Tunnel and NASCAR Now.
Thanks again for stopping by today!
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